To Delay Process of Restructuring Concordia University System

WHEREAS, Three of our 10 beloved schools of higher education have closed in the last several years, making clear the need for a careful study and reporting to the Synod as a whole before taking any significant steps at restructuring the Concordia University System (CUS); and

WHEREAS, The causes and implications of the closures of Concordia College Alabama; Concordia University, Portland; and Concordia College—New York have neither been fully studied nor shared with the owners (members of Synod: congregations and called workers) prior to the proposed restructuring; and

WHEREAS, The 2019 Synod convention called for a task force to study and propose a reorganization of the CUS before the closing of Concordia University—New York and Concordia University, Portland; and

WHEREAS, The task force was organized and such a reorganization is under consideration; and

WHEREAS, This reorganization is built around the theology of the two kingdoms that distinguishes between the practical matters of an institution (kingdom of the left hand) and the theological principles that form its foundation (kingdom of the right hand); and

WHEREAS, One of the difficulties in the administration of a university is the different roles and responsibilities in the kingdoms of the right hand (leaders of the Synod) and the left hand (presidents and boards of regents), which would need to be clarified prior to reorganization; and

WHEREAS, This reorganization provides a significant voice of influence for leaders in the Synodover the institutions with virtually no accountability for the impact of that influence; and

WHEREAS, This reorganization is dependent upon an interpretation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution that provides the leadership of the Synod with a significant protection from financial liability that is still under consideration by the courts; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Northwest District memorialize the 2023 Synod convention to delay action on the recommendations of the task force; and be it further

Resolved, That this task force would fully study and broadly report on the closures of the three Concordias in the past five years to the Synod and all its members before developing a proposal for